just finished this and wondered if anyone else has read it? it's a historical fiction novel set in the time of Henry VIII while he was married to his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, leading up to when he married and executed his second wife, Anne Boleyn. The narrator is Mary Boleyn, or "the other boleyn girl" who was also Henry VIII's mistress before he married Anne. soo crazy how none of the actual historical events are fabricated, just the motivations of the characters. sooo good, i'm now obessed w/ learning more about tudor england!
The Queen's Fool takes place later - its about Queen Mary (Queen Elizabeth's half sister) told from the perspective of this psychic Jewish girl who gets brought to court as a holy fool.
Philippa Gregory has a couple other new books out that are on my "to read" list: one about Queen Elizabeth and another about Katherine of Aragon's childhood.
i read this too and really liked it. if you want to read more about tudor england, i read this "the autobiography of henry viii" few years ago and thought it was good (it's not really an autobiography). the author is margaret george, and she also wrote one about mary queen of scots.
i wonder if the istory about anne and her brother trying to conceive a baby is true?
also, my dad gave me a movie for christmas once called "anne of a thousand days." it stars richard burton as henry and genvieve bujold as anne boelyn. i think it was made in the 60s.
Philippa Gregory has a couple other new books out that are on my "to read" list: one about Queen Elizabeth and another about Katherine of Aragon's childhood.
I think the new one about Katherine of Aragon is called The Constant Princess. I just read about it in Marie Claire and ordered it from my library. I really like Philippa Gregory books.
I read it and liked it too, but not enough to read the other books. I think Anne Bolelyn is one of the most fascinating people in history.
omg me too! have been obsessed with her since I was a kid! Read a bunch of books on her years and years ago. And yes, I saw Anne of A Thousand Days... I am suuuuuch a neeeerrddd... I got goosebumps looking at the execution site when I went to the Tower of London. I love, love, love Tudor England.
I haven't read any of these books, though, although I think The Other Boleyn Girl is in my Amazon basket. I also really like the Georgian/Regency period. "Georgiana" is a fantastic biography, and there is another book (of course I can't remember the title, will post later) that surveys the entire period and all the scandalous antics of the upper crust.
About going to the Tower of London: I was 4 the first time I went to England. My family did an exchange with another family, and we traded houses for one month. I remember going to the Tower and my parents had told me all about Anne Boleyn, and I tried to get them to take a picture of me kneeling down like I was about to be beheaded. They did not find this very amusing.
What a creepy place. Those ravens alone are terrifying!